Kin Khao Hor

Kin Khao Ho (Eating Wrapped Rice)

                 The feast of eating wrapped rice is an ethnic tradition practiced by the Pwo Karen, or the Phlong. This feast is held annually during the 9th lunar month (around August – September). The Pwo Karen people living in villages in western Thailand, in the Ratchaburi-Petchaburi region, take turns to organize this Kin Khao Ho ritual throughout the month. In their own ethnic language, this event is called “Ang Mi Thong” (ang means to eat, and mi thong is wrapped rice). In the past, it was traditionally known as “Khai Jung La Khok” (khai jung means to tie the arms or wrists with strings, la is month or khwan, and khok is the number 9). This actually means the “Ninth Month Su Khwan Rite”. The ceremony of tying sacred strings around the arms or wrists is a blessing act for happiness and longevity in life by protecting the khwan (beneficial spirits of the people), as it symbolizes the binding of these guardian spirits to the people themselves. The festive period of spirit worshipping lasts 2-3 days.

                   Preparation work, done two days before the feast, starts with getting the ingredients for the khao ho (wrapped rice): uncooked sticky rice, banana leaves, bhak (a kind of bamboo) leaves, grated coconut, sugar, honey, and thin bamboo strips. Children help to mold and wrap the rice in a cone shape using leaves. Thin bamboo strips are used to tie the rice packets (khao ho). These strips are special as they are made from one whole bamboo stem – sliced lengthwise into thin, long strips. The wrapped rice packets are tied up together into one big bundle and then boiled in a cooking pan or an empty kerosene can. The right way to eat the cooked rice is to dip it in a thick, sweet sauce made with grated coconut simmered in sugar or honey syrup until almost dry.

                   In the evening prior to the festive day, in every household they wait for the village leader to give a gunshot signal. This happens, they then respond by making very loud noises – either by hitting the drums or kerosene cans, shaking cow bells, setting off fireworks, or shooting guns, etc., until the whole village is resounding. The riak khwan and su khwan rite follows. According to traditional belief, the khwan, the benevolent spirits or the spirits of the people, might have been scared away by malevolent ones, so must be invited to come back to the people. They must be protected because these spirited beings maintain life and guard the people against the evil ones. The ritual is repeated twice: in the evening before, and on the morning of, the festive day. The elderly woman in the family is responsible for performing the appropriate ritual to appease the spirits – by presenting them with sacrifices in a bamboo tray consisting of cooked wrapped rice, flowers (ixora or marigold), red threads, and others such as ripe banana and sugar cane. The rice tray is placed at the top of the stairs. The ritual leader uses a ladle to tap the stairs top rhythmetically while chanting religious poems and inviting the beneficent spirits to return. The lyrics are something like this: “Dear good khwan, dear benevolent khwan, wherever you are – in the forest, with phi, with bad spirits. Friends they are not. Or in the woods, in the streams. Or in the swamps, or in the fields. Hereto come, come back. To daughters and sons and wives (husbands). Come and have your arms bound. Come eat wrapped rice. Come dwell, wandering you away no more.”

                   Each sacrificial item has a special meaning. The ixora symbolizes the Karen’s ancestry and ideology. The ripe banana is associated with love and reproduction. The sugar cane expresses the uninterrupted descent. The wrapped rice represents unity. And the red threads are the symbol of merits and a pure heart. The worshipping ritual is performed one more time in the following morning. The old woman again knocks on the stairs top and the door frame while calling out for the protective spirits. After this, the younger family members come together for the elder to tie red threads around their wrists – an act of giving blessings of longevity and happiness in life. This is done in the order of their seniority. The red thread is wound 3 times around the wrist and then tied into a fixed loop. A bit of the thread is soaked in water and rubbed against the arm too, while the woman is chanting some kind of prayers to invite back the protective spirits. The belief is that the threads would bring good luck if the person can wear them for one whole year, because they would prevent the khwan from leaving again. Next the ritual conductor will put some rice wrapped in cosmos leaves or other leaves, and the rest of the red strings, on the head (where the khwan dwells) of the one being blessed. The act means acknowledging the return and presence of the khwan. The person then takes the offering from the head, holds it in the hand and puts only the leaves behind his ear. The 9th month is believed to be a bad month. So anyone born at this time of year must have red threads tied around both arms and legs before being handed the wrapped rice. If visitors are present, they too will be honored by having their wrists bound. They end the ritual by making a short trip to the village’s spirit house. Wrapped rice is offered to the people’s ancestral spirits. They invite the spirits to eat the rice, and dedicate the merits earned to those deceased ones. This done, they sit down together to eat the rice. These days, as most Karen have become Buddhist they have changed to offering the wrapped rice to the monks in the temples instead.

                   This 9th month Karen feast takes place at the time of year when crops are almost ripe for harvesting, which makes it convenient for them to have a family reunion, especially to be reunited with those who might travel far away to work, fall sick or meet with some misfortunes, and whose khwan naturally is not with them. The feast is held on a different day in each village, thus allowing people time to visit their relatives living in some other villages.

                   Nowadays this “Eating Wrapped Rice” tradition has been subject to modern economic changes. For example, the villages closer to urban areas and more dependant on the outside world may opt to having just a simpler coconut sauce for the rice. The sticky rice itself may be purchased from elsewhere instead of being home grown. Castor sugar may replace honey. In the other villages where tourism impacts can be felt, the festivity has been altered somewhat and thus has become more like a “show”, in order to cater for tourists’ or visitors’ tastes.

กรมวิชาการ กระทรวงศึกษาธิการ.ประเพณีอั้งมีถ่อง.กรุงเทพฯ: ศูนย์พัฒนาหนังสือ กรมวิชาการ กระทรวงศึกษาธิการ, 2545. (in Thai)

บุหลัน รันตี. "อั้งมี่ถ่อง." ใน เนชั่นสุดสัปดาห์. 19,9, 48 (กรกฎาคม 2553), 38. (in Thai)

ลิดาพรรณ จันทร์พิมำนสุข. "ปฏิบัติการสิทธิชุมชนในงานประเพณีกินข้าวห่อ “อั๊งมีทอง” ของชาวกะเหรี่ยงโพลว์งบ้านห้วยแห้ง อาเภอหนองหญ้าปล้อง จังหวัดเพชรบุรี." ในฐานข้อมูลงานวิจัยทางชาติพันธุ์ในประเทศไทย.http://www.sac.or.th/databases/ethnicredb/(เข้าถึง 29 มกราคม 2558) (in Thai)

สุรินทร์  เหลือลมัย. "เดือนเก้ากินข้าวห่อกะเหรี่ยง." ใน วารสารเมืองโบราณ 19,3 (กรกฎาคม-กันยายน 2536), 49-56. (in Thai)